Soccer (Football in the U.K.) doesn't have too much popularity in North America, but worldwide its ungodly popular, with hundreds of countries hungrily watching the World Cup every year. You'd have to be living under a rock not to hear about the countless riots started at European soccer games, with crazed fans going absolutely berserk. Simply put, people love this sport, and keep their eyes peeled fanatically to every little play. FIFA 2001 captures the spirit of World Cup Soccer very well, and at many places will make it seem like you're practically in the stadium squaring off against the other team and kicking ass! Well minus the riots.
The graphics of this title are extremely impressive. With realistic textures on the player's faces, you get a much more accurate display of all the athletes instead of just a bunch of blank faces. The stadiums themselves look great, and the wide color palette used in the game makes the game very bright and easy on the eyes. The animations of the players is extremely realistic, at some points so much that it would take an extremely discriminating eye to actually tell the difference between the animation in the game and watching soccer on television! The crowds are also a welcome surprise, with fans that actually look excited, and for once in a sports game, crowds that contain distinguishable people instead of just a big, ugly blob!
The sound in the game is also very well done, with fantastic, realistic sounds of the crowd cheering, that actually sound like people genuinely excited. The sounds of the ball being kicked, and player's grunts are also very well done, and the announcers, John Motson, and Mark Lawrenson do a great job. They actually make relevant comments in the game, and keep the game exciting and provide interesting facts, instead of being typical pain in the ass, loud-mouthed announcers featured in most sports games.
The action in this title is fast and furious, and perfectly representative of a real soccer match. The computer controlled players in the game, both on your team, and those controlled by your computer opponent, respond much like real players would, and though they are far from perfect, show that EA Sports has put a lot of attention to detail in the area of AI. The game gives you a hell of a lot of options, with tons and tons of teams to choose from, and 17 leagues to play in. Overall, EA Sports has put together one hell of a soccer game here!
